I’m having a tough time finding a new marketing position after being downsized in February. I’ve submitted more than 500 applications and have networked extensively. There have been a few interviews that went well, but no offers. What can I do to take my search to the next level? After five months, I’m getting anxious.

According to labor statistics, the median duration of unemployment is approximately five months — which means half of all job seekers go longer than that.

I understand, of course, that for the person seeking a job, five months seems like an eternity. That can be discouraging, and can lead some to change their approach, or give up and switch careers. You are smart, though, to pause and reevaluate.

Heavy activity doesn’t necessarily equate with productivity. If you make a good presentation, have a good pitch, possess relevant experience for the job you seek and demonstrate that clearly and effectively on your resume — and if you are targeting jobs at the right level job and ones that exist in sufficient quantities — then keep at it. Make whatever adjustments are necessary to any of those elements to maximize your chances, and you’ll eventually land something. Good luck.

I report to three different bosses, and the politics between them are making my job very difficult. They gripe about each other to me and each thinks their work should take priority over the others’. How do I handle this situation?

You find a new job. Because while the work load and prioritizing problems that can come up when supporting more than one boss can be solved under better circumstances, you can’t solve the fact that they are unprofessional, don’t like each other and talk behind each other’s backs. So the likelihood of getting them to cooperate to make your job manageable even if you did want to put up with their unprofessionalism is nil.

Don’t even bother trying to play referee. Look for a transfer internally, or a new job externally.